A cliff ahead? Sounds good to visitors at Rocky Mountain National Park

By Jessica Benes Reporter-Herald Staff Writer

Posted:
12/27/2012 11:33:06 AM MST

The Twin Owls are a part of the skyline above Estes Park. (Rocky Mountain National Park)

While a fiscal cliff looms over the United States economy, it might be an interesting time to take your breath away with the physical cliffs in Rocky Mountain National Park. Some of the cliffs are hard to get to in winter, but the park offers some nice vantage points to enjoy soaring rocky monoliths.

Lumpy Ridge is probably one of the most-popular technical climbing areas, said Kyle Patterson with RMNP.

"If you were to Google Lumpy Ridge, this is something visitors think of when they're thinking of world-class technical climbing," Patterson said.

The Ridge has outcroppings of rock at sites like Twin Owls and the Needles. Patterson said it's also a popular area for nesting raptors in the early spring. Hiking trails travel along the base of Lumpy Ridge to Gem Lake Trail or Black Canyon Trail if you don't want to be right on the rock.

If you decide to climb a rock, follow climbing protocol and don't change the landscape to make the hike easier. Climbers shouldn't chip or drill holds.

accept nature on its own terms, motorized drills prohibited, be courteous to other park users, help educate nonclimbers about your activity to reduce social impacts, employ a "Leave No Trace" principle, carry out all trash and waste, purify water, stoves are allowed but fires are not, and know and use minimum impact hiking and camping techniques.

View the grandiose Eagle Cliff Mountain from the Moraine Park Visitor Center. It is possible to see it from Bear Lake Road and the visitor's center. Patterson isn't sure if this is why it got its name but she said it is likely visitors can see golden eagles soaring around it.

The road to Lava Cliffs near Trail Ridge Road is closed, but it's still possible to make the considerable hike or snowshoe expedition from Many Parks Curve, where the closure begins.

Patterson said that millions of years ago volcanoes erupted repeatedly in the area of today's Never Summer Range eight miles to the west. Deposits of volcanic debris blanketed the land repeatedly, and one of these flows of hot rock formed the tuff visitors see today as Lava Rock.

"Glacial ice carved into the hillside and exposed the tuff in cross-section," Patterson said. The view from Lava Cliffs gives an excellent vantage point of Desolation Peaks, Ypsilon Mountain, Mount Chiquita and Mount Chapin, all between 12,000 and 13,500 feet.

The many cliffs in the park are also a hangout for bighorn sheep, Patterson said. However, they are equipped with rock-scrambling skills that humans don't have.

Patterson said the leading cause of death in the park is injuries from falling. "We have our name for a reason. We have lots of rocks, lots of cliffs, lots of mountains," she said. "People need to be careful around cliffs.

"Around this time of year they have to remember that there are a lot of very slick rocks." She said an outcropping can be deceiving after it's snowed. Visitors are advised to not walk out on ledges and be aware of slippery rocks and ones with a light snow on them.

"It's tempting because people want to go see different vantage points and take photographs. It draws people. People just need to be very cautious," she said.

Article Comments

We reserve the right to remove any comment that violates our ground rules, is spammy, NSFW, defamatory, rude, reckless to the community, etc.

We expect everyone to be respectful of other commenters. It's fine to have differences of opinion, but there's no need to act like a jerk.

Use your own words (don't copy and paste from elsewhere), be honest and don't pretend to be someone (or something) you're not.

Our commenting section is self-policing, so if you see a comment that violates our ground rules, flag it (mouse over to the far right of the commenter's name until you see the flag symbol and click that), then we'll review it.